A Nation’s Progress is Reflected in How it Treats Its Women

Newsreel Asia Insight #50
Nov. 21, 2023

Amid its efforts to find a place on the global stage, India grapples with a stark contradiction. On one side, there’s a relentless pursuit of progress and influence. On the other, a deeply ingrained, regressive mindset persists. This dichotomy was blatantly exposed during the cricket World Cup final, when Tamil Nadu’s news channels bizarrely spotlighted women in a pub, treating their presence as a sensational crime story ... in public interest.

On Nov. 19, a pub in Chennai’s Turn Bulls Road area denied entry to a group. In retaliation, the group alerted the police about the establishment’s late hours, as reported by The News Minute. But the story took a disturbing turn when Tamil news channels arrived, their cameras obsessively focusing on women patrons.

“The reportage, rife with misogynistic remarks about the women’s clothes, implied that their interactions with the men at the bar were lewd and sexual in nature,” said The News Minute in its report. “Further, the news channel’s footage from the pub repeatedly focused on the women, policing their attire and trying to get close shots of their faces, despite being asked not to.”

This incident rightly ignited a firestorm online, with people questioning the media’s fixation on the women instead of the pub’s violation.

In 2009 in neighbouring Karnataka, members of the Right-wing group Sri Rama Sena, known for inciting communal tensions and moral policing, attacked women at the Amnesia Bar and Restaurant in Mangalore, as reported by The Times of India at the time. Objecting to women consuming alcohol, they forcefully ejected them, causing many to fall. They warned the women of severe consequences if they returned to pubs and threatened the bar owner before leaving.

Embedded in such incidents are the regressive beliefs still rampant in parts of Indian society: a woman should fully cover her body, remain confined within the kitchen’s walls, suppress her sexual desires and live under the ownership of either her father or husband.

The troubling nature of this mindset becomes starkly evident when the gender roles are reversed: a man should fully cover his body, remain confined within the kitchen’s walls, suppress his sexual desires and live under the ownership of either his mother or wife. It sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it? Yet, this is the daily reality for countless Indian women.

This mindset is dangerous. It also fuels the alarming rate of crimes against women in India. In 2022, the National Commission for Women (NCW) alone registered close to 31,000 complaints, the highest since 2014, according to PTI. And this is just the tip of the iceberg, considering the countless unreported cases.

The breakdown of these complaints is telling. Over 9,700 pertained to the right to live with dignity, including emotional abuse. Domestic violence and dowry harassment followed. Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, contributed over half of these complaints. Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and Haryana weren’t far behind.

The data paints a grim picture. Molestation, rape, police apathy and cybercrimes against women are rampant. This is the reality of being a woman in India even today.

Further, women ­­– roughly half of India’s population – make up a mere 14 percent of entrepreneurs in the country, and own just 10 percent of the formal enterprises, according to a NASSCOM report covered by Deccan Herald. Globally, the scenario is starkly different. Nearly one-third of established business owners are women, according to the GEM 2022/2023 Women’s Entrepreneurship report, which reveals that in startups, women are almost at par with men.

So, to those clinging to regressive mindsets, here’s a question. Given a choice, would you prefer to live in a society where your family members are confined to the shadows, or thriving in the light of equality and respect?

India’s journey towards progress shouldn’t just be about economic growth or global influence. Shedding these outdated, oppressive beliefs should be a priority. The genuine yardstick of a nation’s advancement extends beyond its GDP, technological strides or the grandeur of its high-rises and flyovers. It is fundamentally reflected in the manner in which it treats its women.

Only when we acknowledge and address these regressive attitudes can India truly claim its place as a modern, progressive nation on the global stage.